having tried unsuccessfully to revive my original FE starter motor with new brushes and springs, i decided to chance buying a starter from a VFR 750 FN (1992), i can confirm that it is a direct fit in the mounting holes and does turn the correct way, the only small difference i can see is the splined end is slightly smaller (less than a mill) and the cable connection is in a different position,(the cable from the fe will reach, you just need to shuffle it round a little)
Have tried it on parts engine i picked up and it turns it over lovely.
hope this helps anyone having starter issues
having tried the above vfr750 starter for a little while, im affraid its bad news,initially the starter worked well but the slightly smaller splined end has started to ware and create a clattering noise on start up, so its back to the drawing board for a direct replacement from another bike,
I have however managed to breath new life into my original fe starter with new brushes, springs and ultrasonic’d the armature and casings
http://www.obbstartersandalternators.com/advanced_topsearch_result.php
Check this site out, I dont know if the ship to the UK. This is the company I bought my starter from last fall and it works just fine.
Jason
Bought one of these kits 2 years ago, been working fine since.
I can proudly announce, that I’ve bought a starter Motor from a VFR 750 F RC24 which fits and turns the right direction. 
Payed 20€ an ebay.
good day you say that the 750 starter works for the vf 1000? I have a vf 1000 motorcycle and the starter motor broke down.
greetings from Argentina
It does,and being a 4 brush motor is more robust than the original 1000 item.These are readily available on EBay in various countries
Regards Bif
I would just like to point out that this is an old post that someone has added to from years ago, just to clarify,
Every body these days are using the vf750f starter motors.
The one I mentioned in the original post was from a vfr750 rc36, although the mounting points are the same and the starter works well for a time, there is a slight difference in the splined end which will eventually where the starter ring gear away…
The vfr750 rc24 may fit but I haven’t tried one…
It’s the vf750f starter that most people use…
The RC24 (VFR750F 86 - 89) does indeed work. It’s longer than the VF750 and engages more of the splined area. Have them in three 1000s now.
1000R - VF750F - VFR750F
I was getting ready to install a VF750F unit and I remembered I happen to have a VFR unit sitting on the bench and did a comparison, and then installed the VFR starter.
Great that has answered a question for me